Sheet-metal door



A. S. BARROWS SHEET METAL DOOR Filed 27. 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I"flllanwarrawa Oct. 28 1924.

A. s. BARROWS SHEET METAL DOOR Filed Aug. 27, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

fave/Liar flllwzba rrawa ALLAN S. BARROWS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SHEET-METAL noon.

Application filed August 27, 1920. Serial No. 406,310.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALLAN S. BARROWS, a citizen of United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois. haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Sheet-Metal Doors, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in sheet metal doors.

One object of the invention is to provide a metal door of relativelylight weight and great strength especially adapted to resist sagging,doubling, bending or edge indentation, the door being especially adaptedfor railway box cars.

Another object of the invention is to provide a metal door which, whenclosed, is not only theft and weather proof but is at the same time soconstructed as to provide for ventilation as for instance when the dooris used on box cars in transporting fruit, vegetables, and the like.

Another object of the invention is to provide an especially efiicientand novel form of fastening means for a plurality of plies of sheetmetal where it is desired to obtain a flush construction, the fasteningmeans being formed without weakening of the metal and being well adaptedto resist deterioration from corrosion or other causes, at the joints.

In the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a sheet metal door embodying my improvements, the doorbeing shown as especially constructed for employment as a side door on abox car. Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view correspondingsubstantially to the line 22 of Figure 1. Figure 3 is an enlargedvertical detail sectional view corresponding substantially to the line33 of Figure 1, intermediate parts being broken away in order to betteraccommodate the View onv the sheet. In this figure, various details ofthe car construction adjacent the door are illustrated. Figure 4 is adetail sectional View corresponding substantially to the line M ofFigure 3. Figure 5 is a detail sectional view upon an enlarged scale andcorresponding substantially to the line 55. of Figure 1. Figure 6 is adetail sectional View illustrating the usual former practice of rivetingor securing together a plurality oi? plies of overlapped sheet metal;

In saiddrawing, the threshold of a side I door opening of a car isindicated at 10, the lintel at 11, the side plate at 12, and the uppersupporting track at 13. The improved door is indicated generally by thereference A, the same being described in detail hereinafter. In theparticular embodiment shown, the door is adapted to be supported fromits top edge by means of a pair of roller carrying brackets 14-14, eachof which carries an upper roller 15 adapted to travel on the track 13and a lower roller 16 normally spaced from the under side of the track13 but adapted to engage therewith to limit the upward movement of thedoor. The lower edge of the door is prevented from swinging outwardlyfrom the side or the car by any suitable means such as a plurality ofbrackets 17 spaced longitudinally along the car side.

The improved door A, as shown, comprises, broadly, three sheet metalpanel sections B, B, and B and four bracing and reinforcing marginalstrips at the top, bottom and sides indicated respectively at C, C, Cand C In carrying out my invention, the three panels, each of which isof generally rectangular form, have their adjacent horizontallyextending edges overlapped as indicated at 1818 in Figure 1, theoverlapped portions being riveted or spot welded or otherwise rigidlysecured together. Each of the panels is also preferably provided with aplurality of horizontally extending strengthening corrugations orindentations 19-19 of a pecul iar form, as hereinafter described. The

door as an entirety is provided with what may be termed edgecorrugations consisting of an upper horizontal corrugation 20, two sidecorrugations 2121, and a bottom horizontally extending corrugation 22.It will be noted that each of said corrugations 20, 21 and 22, whilelocated adjacent the periphery or extreme edges of the (1001' arenevertheless slightly spaced therefrom so' as to leave fiat marginalportions 23 on all four This produces mar 'nal portions for the sides.As will be noted from an inspection of Figures 1, 2 and 3, all of thecorrugations 19 to 22 inclusive extend outwardly from the general mainor inner plane or face of the door so that the door may lie closelyagainst the side of the car and will not present any projections orobstructions to pre ventsliding of the door back and forth.

As more clearly appears from Figures 2 and 3, each of the corrugations19 to 22 inclusive is of unusual form, the same presenting flat toppedridges as indicated at 24 and, intermediate the ridges producing flatvalleys 25. The ridges and valleys are connected by flat or straightdivergent sides 2626. The ordinary practice, heretofore, in corrugatingsheet metal articles has been to make the ridges and valleys curved orrounded, the changes in the curvature from the valley to the ridges,which are of course reversed, occurring in the sides of thecorrugations. Actual tests have demonstrated that corrugations of thetype shown herein, that is, a construction providing flat ridges andflat valleys connected by flat sides, possesses greater strength thancorrugations of the old form heretofore described for the reason thatthe moment of inertia of a section of the metal corresponding to oneridge and one valley on opposite sides of the neutral axis is greaterwith the flat ridge and valley type of corrugation than in the case ofthe curved ridges and valleys of former practice. The increase ofstrength, assuming the same weight of metal and same overall dimensionfrom the top flat ridge to the outside of the corresponding valley, isapproximately 14% to 17%, this increased strength being particularlyedectiv'e against thrusts perpendicular to the flat tops or valleys ofthe corrugations. Said type of corrugations are also extremely eficientagainst collapse from forces applied in directions more or less parallelto the general plane of the door and transverse of the corrugat-ions.

In order to make the margins of the door of sufficient strength toresist indentation to which box car doors are particularly subject dueto the use of crowbars and other instruments employed to pry the doorsback and forth, ll make each of the marginal portions of a multiple ofthicknesses or plies of sheet metal. This is accomplished by having eachI of the reinforcing strips C, C and C doubled back on itself asindicated at 27--27, the doubled-back portions 27 fitting over thecorresponding fiat marginal portions of the sheet metal comprising themain portion of the door indicated at 28.-28 in Figure 1.

door which are of triple thickness and without excessively increasingthe weight of the door, the metal being utilized and concen trated atthose portions only where necessary. In the case of the reinforcingstrip C shown most clearly in Figure 2, the outer vertical edge thereofindicated at 29 and the corresponding outer edge 30 of the main portionof the door are lapped and bent to hook shape and preferably spotwelded, this formation being more particularly for the purpose ofproviding a weather seal at the er edge of the door when the door is inclosed position, it being understood that the hook shaped edge of thedoor will engage under a correspondingly formed hookshaped flange on theouter side of the car Wall.

Each of the reinforcing strips C, C, C and C is extended over theadjacent edge corrugations 2022, 21-21 and is riveted or otherwiserigidly secured to the main portions of the panels. With thisconstruction, it is evident that each reinforcing strip forms, inconjunction with its corresponding edge corrugation, a tube-likearrangement which is exceedingly strong and well adapted to resistbending, crushing or tor sion,.the entire arrangement being exceed inglylight. In the case of the side reinforcing strips C and C the portionsthereof where the same overlap the horizontal corrugations 19 may bebent downwardly into the corrugations as indicated at 31 in Figure 2. Inthe case of said edge reinforcing strips G and C it will be noted thatthe same perform another function in that they prevent the corners oredges of packagelading from becoming lodged in the vertical corrugationsof the door and thus interfering with movement of the door from closedto open position. In connection with the tube-like formation abovedescribed, it will be seen that the vertical edge corrugations 2121 areadditionally reinforced by the horizontal corrugations 19 which aremerged at their ends with the edge corrugations as clearly indicated inFigure 1.

in the cam of box cars used for transporting vegetables, fruit and otherperishable goods, particularly such box cars as are used on southernrailroads, it is generally necessary to provide means for ventilation atthe side doors of the car. So far as I am aware, no sheet metal or othermetal door for boxcars has ever made provision for such ventilation, thecommon practice requiring the use of wood doors which have section'sthereof cut out and replaced by a screen of heavy mesh. in order toadapt my door for use on cars requiring ventilation and at the same timnot interfere with or militate against the ordinary usage of the door, Iprovide 'a series of ventilating openings as indicated at V in Fi ure 3.lFhese openings or vents V are preferably made on the under or lowersides of the out- Wardly extended corrugations of rthe door so as toprevent rain snow or sleet entering therethrough. In actual practice,the vents will be formed by slitting the sheet metal so as to providesmall tongues or tangs, the latter being bent downwardly as indicated at32, the downwardly bent tangs acting as weather shields for the vents.As will be obvious to those skilled in the art, the number, location andform of the vents V may vary greatly. In Figures 7, 8 and 9, I haveshown three different forms of the rents, those in Figure 7 comprising aplurality of substantially semi-circular openings 33, those in Figure 8comprising a plurality of relatively short slots 34 and in Figure 9comprising comparatively elongated slots 35. In each instance I preferto employ a downwardly and outwardly bent tongue or tang as indicated at32 in Figure 3 and heretofore described. In Figure 1 only a few of thevents of the form indicated at 33 in Figure 7 are shown but 'as will beunderstood by those skilled in the art, the number and location of thevents may be greatly varied as heretofore indicated.

In the doors employed on box cars, it is particularly necessary that theinner side thereof be substantially flat and free from any projectionswhich might interfere with the movements of the door. Consequently,where rivets are employed to unite various parts of the door, it iscustomary to countersink the rivets on the inner side of the door.Heretofore, so far as I am aware, it has always been customary inemploying countersink rivets or bolts to unite a number of layers ofsheet metal, to counterbore the outer sheet or ply of the metal asindicated at 36 in Figure 6 to accommodate the countersink head 37 ofthe rivet or other securing element. Obviously, this leaves a thin edgefor the outer sheet as indicated at 38 and observation has shown thatthese scarfed or beveled edges of the sheet metal are especially subjectto corrosion or pitting due to the rain or other weather elementsseeping into the rivet joint with the ultimate result that the jointbecomes insecure and the rivet or bolt does not properly perform itsfunction. To overcome this defect and at the same time maintain a flushfastening arrangement, I employ the construction most clearlyillustrated in Figures 4 and 5. In the case of Figure 4 where the twoplies of metal 39 and 40 are in direct contact and the other ply 41spaced therefrom on account of the bracket mounting, I provide anopening 42 in the intermediate ply 40 of appreciably larger diameterthan the shank of the bolt 43. The outermost ply 39 is providedinitially with an opening 44 corresponding in diameter substantially tothe diameter of the shank of the bolt. The metal of the ply 39immediately surrounding the opening 44 is bent .by which is carried theroller 65.

inwardly as indicated at 45 partially within the opening 42 so as toproduce a countersunk recess for the countersink head 46 of the bolt.With this construction, I avoid any thin edge in the ply 39 and on thecontrary maintain its full thickness at all points so that the dangerfrom corrosion or pitting is substantially entirely eliminated. The sameprinciple of construction is clearly illustrated in Figure 5 where thethree plies of metal are indicated at 139, 140 and 141, all the plies inthis instance being in close contact. In this construction, theinterme-' diate ply 141 is provided with arelatively large opening 142,the ply 139 with an opening 144, the metal surrounding said last namedopening being inwardly bent as indicated at 145, to accommodate acountersink head 146 of the rivet 143 employed in this instance.

In Figure 10 I have shown in section the lower portion of a door of thatcharacter wherein the support is obtained at the bot tom asdistinguished from support at the top, as shown in Figure 3. In theconstruction of said Figure 10 the bottom portion of the door is formedby a reinforcing strip G a Z-bar 50, and the main sheet metal of thedoor 60, the latter being extended outwardly and thence downwardlyvertically as indicated at 61. One flange 62 of the Z-bar is secured tothe portion 61, the other flange 63 of the Z-bar being riveted to thelower edge of the,strip C This produces a hollow'tube-like structure atthe bottom of the door well adapted to accommodate a roller bearingbracket 64 of any desired form and The roller 65 .is extended downwardlythrough a suitable slot 66 in the web of the Z-bar so that the roller 65bears upon the lower horizontal track 67. As will be obvious to thoseskilled in the art, various other changes may be made to obtain thetube-like construction at the bottom of the door to accommodate thesupporting rollers and, if desired, the Z-bar or other reinforcingmember employed may be utilized as the supporting edge of the door wherethe rollers are mounted in fixed brackets secured to the sides of thecar. As shown in Figure 1 of the drawing I may provide openings 6868 atthe bottom corners so that any foreign matter that may get into thecovered corrugations, will readily be discharged.

I have herein shown and described what I now consider the preferredmanner of carrying out my invention but I am aware that various changesand modifications may be made in the details of construction andarrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the inventionand all such changes and variations are contemplated as come within thescope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. As an article of manufacture, a door comprised of sheet metal havinga plurality of horizontally and outwardly extended corrugations therein,the corrugations presenting downi'ardly and inwardly sloping lowersides, said door being provided with openings through some of said lowersides of the horizontal corrugations, each of said openings beingprovided with a downwardly projecting wall at its upper outer edge, saidwalled openings being formed by slitting and bending the metal outwardlyto the exposed side of the door, the outwardly bent wall portions of themetal serving as weather shields for the openings.

2. As an article of manufacture, a door comprised of sheet metal havinga plurality of horizontally extending corrugations therein. formingalternately arranged ridges and valleys, the outwardly disposed faces ofsaid ridges being flat, and the upper and lower sides of each of saidridges that connect said ridges and valleys being inclined in oppositedirections so as to diverge-away from said outwardly disposed face, saiddoor being provided with a plurality of downwardly directed ventilatingopenings in the downwardly sloping under sides of some of said ridges.

3. As an article of manufacture, a sheet metal door having integrallyformed therein a plurality of horizontally extending corrugations, eachof said corrugations having flat ridges and diverging fiat upper andlower sides, the door having fiat valleys intermediate the corrugationsand said door also having a continuous corrugation extending verticallyalong the front and rear edges and extending horizontally along thebottom edge. said continuous corrugation being outwardly beyond saidfirst mentioned corrugations and bounding the latter.

4. As an article of manufacture, door adapted to serve as a side doorfor box cars, said door having the main portion thereof comprised ofsheet metal having integrally formed corrugations therein, each of saidcorrugations having a flat ridge and diverg ing flat side walls, saiddoor also having a continuous marginal corrugation extending along thefront. rear and bottom edges outwardly beyond said first mentionedcorruga tions and bounding the latter; and reinforcing sheet metalstrips around the edges of the door. said strips and metal sheetscomprising the main portion of the door having the one doubled over theother to formmarginal portions composed of a multiple of thicknesses ofsheet metal.

5. A sheet metal article of manufacture having portions thereof formedof a plurality of plies of sheet metal, and means for uniting the pliesincluding: a fastening element extending through the plies, said elementhaving a shank and a countersink head at one end thereof, the ply ofsheet metal directly cooperable with said head having an opening forsaid shank with the metal surrounding said opening inwardly bent tothereby provide a countersunk recess for said head, the adjacent ply ofsheet metal having an alined opening of greater diameter than the firstnamed opening to accommodate said inwardly bent portions of said firstnamed ply and the shank of the fastening element.

6. A sheet metal article of manufacture, such as a door, having portionsthereof comprised of three plies of sheet metal arranged in parallelrelation, two at least of said plies being in. contact, the outermosttwo plies of sheet metal having openings formed therein approximatingthe diameter of the shank of the fastening element and the intermediateply of sheet metal having an alined larger opening, the outer ply incontact with the intermediate ply having the metal surrounding itsopening bent inwardly partially Within said opening of the. intermediateply to provide a countersunk recess Without thinning of the metal forthe countersink head of a fastening element; and a fastening elementhaving a countersink head exmnded through said openings to retain thethree plies of sheet metal in assembled relation.

7. As an article of manufacture, a sheet metal door adapted for boxcars, said door having the main portion thereof comprised of a singlethickness of sheet metal and reinforcing strips around the edges of themain portion, said reinforcing strips and the sheet metal of the mainpart of the door being bent one over the other to form threeply marginalportions for the door, the inner side of the door presenting asubstantially flat surface; and a plurality countersunk rivets foruniting the three ply portions of the door, the heads of the rivetsbeing on the inner side of the door, the innermost plies of the doorsecured said rivets having openings to accommo the shanks of the rivetsand the metal surrounding said openings inwardly bent to providecountersunk recesses, the intermediate plies having openings of largerdiameter than the shanks of the rivets to pan tially accommodatesaidinwardly bent portions.

in witness that I claim the foregoing have hereunto subscribed my namethis l n day of Aug. 1920.

ALLAN S. BARRQ'l V Witness 2 0mm Gamma.

